‘The Visit’ on Broadway in 2015, starring Chita Rivera. Rivera starred within the musical at Signature Theatre in 2008. (Photo by Thom Kaine.)
ARLINGTON, VA.: Signature Theatre has named Chita Rivera the recipient of the 2023 Stephen Sondheim Award. The award shall be introduced at an April gala on the Embassy of Italy, in a profit for Signature’s inventive, schooling, and group packages.
“It felt appropriate to look toward the beginning of Mr. Sondheim’s accomplished career when selecting this year’s recipient of the Stephen Sondheim Award,” Signature Theatre inventive director Matthew Gardiner stated in an announcement. “Ms. Rivera is perhaps best known for her iconic performance as Anita in West Side Story, the musical that marked Mr. Sondheim’s first foray onto the Broadway stage.We are thrilled to bestow this honor upon Ms. Rivera, who has long been a dear friend of Signature.”
Signature’s Sondheim Award gala honors people who’ve made necessary contributions to American musical theatre. Rivera is without doubt one of the most nominated performers within the historical past of the Tony Awards, with 10 nominations and two wins. In 2015, she was nominated for her efficiency within the musical The Visit, which she carried out at Signature in 2008. In 2018, Rivera was honored with the Tony Award for lifetime achievement. A flexible actor, singer, and dancer, Rivera obtained the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, has carried out at Carnegie Hall, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. She will launch her e book Chita: A Memoir with co-writer Patrick Pacheco in April.
Signature Theatre inaugurated the Stephen Sondheim Award in 2009. In addition to honoring Rivera, this yr’s awards ceremony will honor Michelle S. Lee with the J. Watkins Distinguished Service Award for her influence on the higher Washington, D.C. group. Lee is the founder, president, and CEO of STG International, Inc.
Signature Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre firm that broadens and brightens the capital area’s cultural panorama with productions and schooling and outreach packages. Signature is famend for its creative diversifications of neglected or forgotten works and its investments in new initiatives.
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